Another reason light colors are cooler is because they absorb less heat. Dark colors, on the other hand, soak up more sunlight and get warmer. This is why wearing a black shirt on a sunny day can make you feel much hotter than wearing a white one.
Sun safety tips
Avoid sun exposure: wear a wide-brimmed, breathable hat or use an umbrella. Wear sunglasses: make sure they provide protection against UVA and UVB rays. Limit your time in the sun: especially between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Black. Black absorbed 86 percent of infrared, and the most heat. In five minutes it finished 60 degrees hotter than white—but damn if it doesn't look cool.
To help protect your skin from the sun, dermatologists recommend wearing the following items: Lightweight and long-sleeved shirts and pants. It's important to cover up as much of your skin as possible when spending time outdoors. When selecting clothing, avoid fabrics with a loose or open weave, such as lace.
Avoid Heavy Fabric
Heavy fabrics such as denim or wool not only make your outfit feel heavy, but can also feel hot and sticky under the heat.
Darker colors, such as blue or black, absorb more UV rays than lighter shades like whites and pastels. This means the UV rays are less likely to reach your skin. But bright colors, like red, can also absorb UV rays.
Choose light colors: Wearing light colors that reflect the sun's rays rather than absorb them (as dark colors can) helps keep you cool. Look for shirts, shorts, pants and hats in white, tan or khaki.
Lighter colors reflect more sunlight and help keep you cooler. Black clothing can make it harder to see and avoid insects, which might be more attracted to darker colors.
Clothing and sunglasses
Wear clothes and sunglasses that provide sun protection, such as: a wide-brimmed hat that shades the face, neck and ears. a long-sleeved top. trousers or long skirts in close-weave fabrics that do not allow sunlight through.
Light-Colored, Loose-Fitting Clothing: Light-colored clothing reflects the sun's rays better than dark colors, which absorb heat. Loose fits allow air circulation, which helps evaporate sweat and cools your body naturally.
White. White is the ultimate summer color as it reflects sunlight rather than absorbing it, which helps to keep your body cooler. This reflective property makes white clothing feel noticeably cooler than darker shades.
Black and dark colors absorb more UV rays than other colors, which will ensure they don't hit your skin as much. Essentially, the darker the color, the more sun protection it will offer. Besides black, other dark colors that can provide a level of sun protection include navy, maroon, and dark gray.
Cotton. Cotton stands out as a top-notch choice for scorching summer days. Its unique fiber structure not only lets your skin breathe but also absorbs perspiration, leaving you comfortably dry.
Take breaks in a cool or shaded area. Keep cool – Use air conditioning or a fan. Keep your skin moist with a spray bottle, damp sponge, or cool showers. Avoid strenuous activities – Don't do heavy labor or lifting during the hottest part of the day.
Research shows that spending time in the sun can increase your vitamin D levels, reduce your risk of certain health conditions, and improve your overall well-being. Experts recommend getting 10 to 30 minutes of sunlight most days of the week.
Of all colors tested, dark blue offered the best levels of UV protection, making it the best color to wear in the sun. Contrary to the popular belief that they are the coolest colors in the sun, white and yellow were the worst performing colors in terms of UV protection.
“Amazingly, the sun's UV rays can damage unprotected skin in as few as 15 minutes and it can take as long as 12 hours for skin to show the full effect of sun exposure,” says Hageman. “That means you may not realize the damage being done until long after you've come in from the sun.
On hot summer days, one should wear light colored clothing. This is because dark colored clothing, especially black, absorbs heat. A thin colored black clothing then transmits the heat to the body, which makes the one wearing it feel hotter.
Of all colours tested, dark blue offered the best levels of UV protection, making it the best colour to wear in the sun. Contrary to the popular belief that they are the coolest colours in the sun, white and yellow were the worst performing colours in terms of UV protection.
Whites, off-whites, light grays, and pastel shades of pink, yellow, blue, and green reflect the sun's rays away from your body better than darker colors. These lighter colors don't absorb as much UV light, so wearing them means less exposure for your skin.
A black shirt, on the other hand, absorbs all of the wavelengths of light, reflecting none of them back to our eyes. As a black shirt absorbs all of the light that hits it, it converts that light into other forms of energy, usually heat.
Choose light-colored clothing for hot weather activity. Darker colors absorb more heat and will make you hotter.
The Bergmann's Rule and Allen's Rule suggest that populations living in colder climates tend to have larger body masses and shorter limbs to minimize heat loss, while those in warmer climates have slimmer bodies and longer limbs to facilitate heat dissipation.